Ruusan Redemption
by varcolac352
Summary: As the Republic recovers from the New Sith Wars and the Battle of Ruusan, a prisoner of the Jedi seeks his redemption. A bounty hunter looks for his place in the grand scheme of things, and a child of the Sith is entered into a world he does not understand. (Not good at sumarries. just read the story and judge for yourselves. set after the events of Darth Bane: Path of Destruction)
1. Chapter 1

Sirul

It was hard for Sirul Vulfric to feel anything but alone. The 23 year old shistavanen languished in the brig aboard the _Fairwind_ , thinking back on how he had come to be a prisoner of the Jedi. He expected better treatment than this, having willingly surrendered on the surface of the scarred world of Ruusan. After all, he HAD offered information. While the war drew to a close on the planet below, the _Fairwind_ was oddly peaceful. Sirul looked around through the field of his force cage at the rest of the prisoners. Sirul realized that he was the only Sith lord to have surrendered. After all, it was clear to any sentient with any degree of sense that the war was over once the Sith blockade over the planet was broken. Sirul's musings were interrupted by the arrival of one of his meals. Time on a starship is not easy to measure. Sirul was used to the 23 standard hour day of Ruusan. The content of the meal usually helped him to determine the time on the planet's surface. He was given a plate of something resembling scrambled eggs and a glass of blue milk through an opening in the field before it shut again. He noticed that the one bringing the food wasn't the usual guy, but a female red-skinned Twi'lek Jedi carrying a datapad in one hand. She was obviously one of the rare Lethan subspecies. Lethans were known for attractiveness and this one was no exception. She sat in front of the field, facing Sirul.

Doubtless, Sirul must have looked terrifying to her. He stood up to his full 1.8 meter height. His right arm and shoulder were protected by armor of an unknown alloy which was angular and sharp in it's design. His lower legs and knees were similarly armored and he wore a harness over his vest which held on his chest an angled panel designed to protect his neck. His left arm was left totally exposed, showing off his thick grey fur. "You're not the usual food guy," he said in perfect basic. "Who are you?" The Twi'lek girl stood to try and meet him at eye level.

"I heard that a Dark Lord willingly surrendered. And to see if he'd make good on his promise of information. I'm Elara. I'm an archivist."

"A pleasure," Sirul said politely. "I'm Sirul Vulfric, formerly of the Brotherhood of Darkness. Why'd they send an Archivist?" Sirul was expecting a Republic interrogator. But that might have been the case were he captured by the Army of Light. "Did they want to hear the story from a Sith perspective?" Elara shook her head and her lekku flopped about.

"I want to know how such a little farming world became so important to the Brotherhood."

"Not sure if I can help you," the shistavanen said. "I was called from the academy on Dathomir not too long after the Fourth Battle of Ruusan. Kaan needed reinforcements from anywhere he could get them and I answered the call. I heard a lot of stories about Lord Kaan and his charisma. How he bravely crushed the Republic at the First Battle of Ruusan with a legendary power called Battle Meditation. I was honored to have met him, brief though it was."

"I have to stop you there," Elara said. "Did that image actually hold up?" Sirul shook his head after finishing a forkful of eggs and chasing them down with the blue milk. Each time he was stopped was an opportunity to eat some of his breakfast.

"No. The longer the war raged on, the more the image I held of Kaan started to break down. He started pacing, screaming at people and muttering to himself about some doomsday weapon. He's probably set it off by now. As far as I could tell, the blockade was broken by one of the Dark Lords on the ground. Someone wanted Kaan to crack. And it clearly worked." Sirul stopped for a moment to finish off his eggs and down the rest of the blue milk. "He was obsessed with beating Lord Hoth and he was prepared to do anything."

"He has set it off. But how did you know what the Thought Bomb was?" Elara asked, taking everything Sirul said down on her datapad.

"He kept muttering about it. And being a shistavanen gives me excellent hearing. I also realized that his charisma was a product of his abilities. He subtly manipulated the minds of his followers."

"So, how is it that you were unaffected?"

"Maybe I'm just too stubborn. It's probably like how Jedi mind tricks only affect the weak-minded. The longer the war dragged on, the more the Brotherhood started tearing itself apart. It's a miracle the empire lasted as long as it did."

"I bet. I should be going." Elara got up and headed away.

"Wait," Sirul shouted. He had felt the ship start to move and shifted to maintain balance. "The war is over, isn't it?" Elara nodded. "Then where are we going?"

"Coruscant," Elara answered before leaving Sirul to his musings. Sirul never liked the idea of Coruscant. All his life, he was told that it was the center of a corrupt and decadent Republic where all manner of wrongdoings were carried out by a government that had no right to rule. Nor did Sirul understand how a city that spans the planet could ever be constructed. And then, while en Route, Elara returned with Siruls lunch. "You mentioned you were trained on Dathomir. Do you remember where your academy was?" Elara asked, sliding the tray through a hole in the force cage.

"I might," Sirul remarked, picking up the tray and sitting down. "I know where most of the academies are. But I can only give an exact location for the one on Dathomir. I know where you should search for the others. But information is a commodity. And all commodities have a price."

"And what's yours?"

"I want to defect. I was forced into life among the Sith. My parents thought it would be an opportunity for me. But I always thought I would have done better as a Jedi."

"You're certain? Life in the order isn't an easy one." Sirul nodded.

"I did surrender willingly, after all." Elara didn't necessarily want to admit it, but Sirul did have a point.

"We'll be docking soon. I can give you an audience with the council, but I can't sway their decision."

"That's good enough," Sirul said. He started on his lunch, which was thankfully still warm. There was still a good deal of time before the _Fairwind_ slipped out of hyperspace to make the approach to Coruscant. Sirul decided to meditate for a bit. He had just made a major decision. A voice in Siruls head started calling out to him.

" _Traitor!"_ It shouted. It was Kaan. _"You left us. Surrendered. You have brought dishonor to the Sith."_

" _The Brotherhood was dying. You killed it. What ever manner of spirit or memory you are, be gone,"_ thought Sirul as he reached out with the force to shield himself from the voice of his former general. In his cell he waited, hoping that the _Fairwind_ would reach Coruscant soon. Sirul was thrown from his trance as the _Fairwind_ came out of hyperspace. Elara came around again with another meal "Back so soon? Did you want to hear some more war stories?"

"No," Elara said, shaking her head. "We'll be arriving at the Jedi Temple soon. If you have anything you want to say to the high council, you may want to think of it now." Sirul said nothing. He sat back down, crossing his legs and entering a meditative trance. Sensing his deep focus, Elara decided to leave the shistavanen to his thoughts. What WOULD he say to the high council? He knew that the Jedi did not believe in killing their prisoners. After all, Revan had done far worse than Sirul could manage and he was given a second chance. Perhaps bringing Revan into the discussion was not the best idea. Sirul knew what the Jedi had done to Revan. That prospect didn't seem appealing to him in the least. This clearly deserved a lot of thought. Especially since he would be seeing the high council. He could hear now the sounds of the _Fairwind_ docking with the Jedi temple through his force-enhanced hearing. As the noises ceased and the _Fairwind_ finally docked, Sirul stood up as he saw Elara approach his cell carrying a pair of stun cuffs.

Elara shut off Sirul's force cage and the Shistavanen stepped out with wrists out, waiting for the cuffs. They were on him in one fluid motion, which Sirul thought an archivist incapable of. "Are these strictly necessary? You know I can unlock these with the force," Sirul said, surprised that he wasn't given some kind of neural restraint.

"It was the only way the high council would agree to meet with you. You should be more grateful." Elara had a point. Sirul decided to at least play along, especially if it would help his plea for a place in the order. He was led by Elara through the _Fairwind_ and eventually out to the unloading ramp. When Sirul first stepped out the door and saw the massive spires of the Jedi temple, he was stunned. Here was a building that must have taken hundreds of years to construct in a city that must have taken Millenia to build. "You can admire the sites later. You wouldn't want to keep the high council waiting." Elara yanked on Siruls stun cuffs and led him into the temple. Sirul was surprised at the beauty and purity of the interior, but was more worried about what he would say to the high council. He was led into a turbolift that would take him to the council chamber. Sirul was visibly nervous now, his hands trembling. Elara placed a soothing hand on his left shoulder and the lift reached its destination.

The council chamber was flooded with sunlight, almost blinding Sirul as he stepped forward to meet the council. The first to speak was a female Jenet. "Lord Sirul," she said, "I am master Fae Coven. Elara told me that you had information."

"I do," said Sirul. "But do not call me lord. I hope to abandon that title."

"Elara tells us you seek to redeem yourself for your actions during the war," Fae said. "Is that true?" Sirul nodded.

"A better question would be this; do you think I CAN be redeemed?"

"I have looked over the observations made by our scouts during the war and I believe you can be," Fae began. "Your unit took deliberate steps to avoid civilian casualties. Even going so far as to evacuate an area before fighting started." Sirul nodded.

"That put me at odds with lord Kaan. Even if he never said so himself."

"But that you cared at all shows a great deal of compassion," said one of the masters, a human male. "It seems that the Jedi order will be a better fit for you than you may even realize. This assumes your information is good."

"It is. Can you pull up a starmap of the galaxy from here?" Sirul asked. Fae nodded and as if on command, a ceiling mounted projector displayed a three dimensional map of the galaxy.

"The warriors and marauders were trained at Gentes, Honoghr, and Gamorr." Each world Sirul named lit up on the holomap like a beacon. "You all know about the academy on Korriban, where the masters of the Brotherhood trained. I was trained on Dathomir, and other acolytes like me trained at Iridonia. And the assassins were trained at Ryloth, Umbara, and Nar Shadaa. I can give you the exact location of the Dathomir academy, but that's all."

"I sense that you are telling the truth," said Fae. "We must have time to deliberate. Elara, Sirul, Please excuse us."

"Of course, master," Elara said. Leading Sirul by the stun cuffs. Elara took him down to the archives while the council masters debated what to do with their shitavanen guest. Sirul sat in front of one of the holonet terminals while Elara removed his stun cuffs. Sirul rubbed at his wrists, surprised that Elara let him go.

"So NOW you set me loose?" Elara only nodded.

"I'm sure you would have done something by now if you were planning on it. I think it'll be safe to let you wander the archives while the council deliberates. Let me know if you need help finding anything," Elara said with a smile. "However, I need you to hand in your armor. At least until we determine that there's no inherent malice in the design. As far as I can tell, you should get it back soon enough." Sirul began the process of stripping off his armor, revealing the Sith robes underneath. Piece after piece went to Elara and she gave them to one of the analysis droids to take for evaluation. Sirul, however did have something Elara could help him with.

"Can you help me find anything on Lightsaber construction?" Elara was taken aback by Siruls question.

"You NEVER built your own lightsaber?" She asked. Sirul nodded.

"Among the Sith, you had to earn the right to carry a lightsaber. Once you did, you were provided with one. I am sure I will have to construct a new lightsaber once my place in the order is determined."

"Very well," said Elara. "Follow me and I'll get you in the right direction." Elara handed Sirul a blank datacard and helped him gather several texts on lightsaber construction from various masters of the art. All in datacard form. Sirul thanked Elara and made his way to one of the terminals. Sirul sat down and inserted his blank datacard and the first one that Elara gave him. He first loaded a report on Sith lightsabers filed by a Jedi armorer. He was surprised to find that, in comparison to Jedi sabers, Sith sabers are noted for shoddy construction. Sirul shut off the report and put in a datacard on Jedi saber construction.

A lot more went into constructing a saber than Sirul ever realized. He copied a list of necessary components onto his datacard and read more into how the Jedi made their sabers. Apparently the components and alloys had to be fused at the molecular level through manipulation of the force. Furthermore, there was no mention on the use of synthetic crystals. Sirul wondered why that was the case. Throughout his time on Dathomir, he was always told that the synthetic crystals produced stronger blades than the natural crystals favored by the Jedi. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that only the Sith knew how to create synthetic crystals. However, the Jedi had no problem adopting double-bladed lightsabers despite them being based on Sith designs. Ironically, all modern sabers used technology based on Sith design. If it weren't for the Sith, lightsabers would still be using belt-mounted power packs. Sirul copied the finer details of construction to his datacard and even copied down the details on some of the more esoteric varieties of lightsaber.

"Look, master!" shouted a young human girl pointing at Sirul. "That man's a Sith." One of the masters, a male twi'lek followed close behind.

"If he's here, he must be trying to turn over to the light. Remember, everyone deserves a second chance," said the twi'lek. Sirul was noticeably cut off from his task by the girl's interruption. The twi'lek approached Sirul with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry about Mayla. She can be a bit too blunt. But I am curious why you're here."

"I wish to join the Jedi, like you said," Sirul began. "The council is deliberating about what to do with me"

"I meant here in the archives."

"Elara trusted me enough to turn me loose." The twi'lek nodded in understanding.

"For what it's worth, I hope the council sides with Elara. You had the good sense to defect, after all." The twi'lek motioned to the young initiate. "Come along, Mayla. You don't want to miss combat practice."

"YAY!" shouted the youngling as she and the twi'lek left Sirul alone to continue his research. However, the shistavanen was not left alone for long. Elara came back and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"The council has made their decision. Finish what you were doing and follow me." At her command, Sirul finished up transferring the data he needed and withdrew his datacard, tucking it into his sleeve. Elara led the shistavanen back to the council chamber. Sirul stood once again before the council, shaking like a leaf.

"Sirul," Fae began. "It is the decision of this council that you be allowed to join the Jedi order. Your record from the war and your genuine remorse are what ultimately won us over. That you came here willingly makes you exempt from the Trial of Spirit. And the losses your unit faced must have touched you deeply."

"I have always regarded successful missions as total failures when I lose a soldier. My sergeant was close as any friend could be," Sirul explained. What he hadn't said was that his sergeant was the one who convinced him to join the Jedi order as soon as it was clear the war was over. She surrendered with him, and was likely awaiting trial for her actions during the war.

"I am going to give you a pass on the Trial of the Flesh as well. Until you've passed the remaining trials, you will need a suitable master. And you will be needing to construct a new lightsaber. You will have everything you need after you have been paired with a suitable master." Sirul had some difficulty containing his gratitude. He was shocked by the decision. The Sith had no problem accepting former Jedi during the war. Sirul even knew several of them. He always had doubts that the jedi would take him in. Perhaps more of the Sith had surrendered, hoping to turn over to the light. And Sirul was standing there stunned. He had earned a pass on two of the five Jedi trials.

"Thank you, Master Fae. I promise I won't let you down."

"Elara, I trust you to find Padawan Sirul suitable quarters and some new robes," Fae said.

"Right away, Master," said Elara as she led the Sirul out of the council chamber and to his new quarters. The accommodations were basic, not unlike what he dealt with on Dathomir. However, everything was decorated far more tastefully. The sun was beginning to set on Galactic City and Sirul thought it would be a good time to get some sleep. He let Elara leave and disrobed before lying on his new bed. He threw a blanket over himself and drifted off to sleep for the first time since the end of the war. When he awoke the next day, he found a set of Padawan robes at his doorstep. He took them inside and got dressed. This was the symbolic start to his new life among the Jedi. He began to meditate once he had made his bed. By the time he had entered a deep trance, he was interrupted by three sharp knocks on his door. Sirul opened it and was greeted by a female selkath clad in the robes of a Jedi knight. The lightsaber clipped to her belt was a double-bladed one with a wooden handgrip carved to the unique contours of the selkath hand.

"Are you Sirul Vulfric?" asked the selkath in almost perfect basic.

"I am," said Sirul, still groggy from the abrupt end to his meditation. "Are you the master chosen for me by the council?"

"Yes. Shala Zora is my name. I must say you are not what I expected."

"I could say the same. I had always thought Manaan wanted nothing to do with the rest of the galaxy." Sirul knew the reason for this, of course. During the days of the Jedi Civil War, Kolto was the preferred method for rapidly healing soldiers. Since then, it has been replaced by a synthetic compound called Bacta. Sirul personally preferred Kolto, as it has a better track record with blaster burns.

"The same could be said of Uvena. Yet here you are, Padawan. I trust you are eager to begin your training." Shala was also eager, but for a different reason entirely. Sirul was actually her first Padawan. And she was made aware of his situation. Since he only needed to pass the trials of Courage, Skill, and Insight, he was her shortcut to the title of master.

"Yes. I have a datacard on lightsaber construction. I was hoping we could tackle that."

"In due time, Sirul. First, I would like to take you to the room of a thousand fountains. I would like to see if you know the Jedi code. And crucially, if you understand it." Shala lead sirul down the hall past the younglings headed for their morning lessons to the room of a thousand fountains. Sirul found the sound to be soothing at first as he sat in front of Shala, both of them crossing their legs in a meditative pose. "If you know the code, Sirul, go ahead."

"There is no emotion," Sirul began, "there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force."

"The exact words of the code," Shala said. "But do you understand them?" Sirul tried to focus as best he could, but as the sounds of the fountain kept going he found it difficult to focus. "Let's start with the first precept."

"A Jedi cannot allow emotion to cloud their judgement, even compassion can stand in the way of good judgement." Siruls explanation was indeed satisfactory. Shala smiled, at least as best as a selkath could.

"That is true. Sometimes the right thing to do is walk away."

"Which is why a Jedi needs the knowledge to determine the best course of action. Ignorance benefits no one." Sirul explained. "Back on Dathomir, we were discouraged from digging up the past in the archives there. It's different here. And I am grateful for that. There is wisdom to be gained from the long dead. Like Masters Revan and Shan."

"That is true. Revan's story teaches us that anyone can be redeemed. It does mean surrendering passion, however."

"Because passion is the fuel for the dark side. Passion is raw, untamed, and uncontrollable. It's unbecoming of the Jedi. Untamed passion is no better than pure emotional chaos. Paradoxically, it explains why some of the more rational Sith were not as powerful as those who lost themselves in their emotions."

"These are surprising insights, Sirul. The dark side must not have been very strong in you, then," Shala said.

"Truthfully, it wasn't. All were equal in the brotherhood, but there was no harmony. Chaos ultimately spelled their end."

"Do you mourn any of them?" Shala asked. "Did you have friends among the brotherhood?" Sirul shook his head. All of his friends were among the soldiers he led on Ruusan.

"Even if I did, they're probably dead. Maybe some of them survived in the academies, but I never formed attachments with other Sith. They are one with force now, for better or worse. Although I doubt I'll be seeing their spirits."

"That's rather amusing. Even as a Sith, you carried yourself like a Jedi. We may need to go to Ilum sooner than I realized." Shala said incredulously.

"I would like to scrounge some of the markets here first. I have some rather specific requirements."

"I'll see if I can get us an assignment here on Coruscant. I know which markets will have the materials you need." Shala finished speaking and entered a deep meditative trance and Sirul followed suit, attuning himself to the light side of the force for the first time. His life as a Sith would hopefully become a distant memory now that his life as a Jedi has officially begun.


	2. Chapter 2

Terrowin

Terrowin never liked coming to Nar Shadaa. Something about the smugglers moon put the 25 year old human on edge. Everyone on this moon was hiding something, nothing was ever as it seemed, and the crime rate was ridiculous. However, as a bounty hunter, that meant plenty of work for him was readily available. After all, it wasn't hard to find criminals on Nar Shadaa. All you had to do was point your blaster and shoot. In his starship, an ancient SGS-41B Comet Breaker purchased and rehabilitated for next to nothing and called _Fenris_ , he waited for a transmission from his contractor back at the Bounty Hunter's Guild. Normally, he'd be given the information before he headed out. When it came in, the projected image of a female rodian materialized in front of him. "Hreeda," said Terrowin, "I made it to Nar Shadaa. NOW will you tell me about my acquisition?"

"Patience, Terrowin. I'm transferring everything to your datapad. You're looking for one of the instructors of Nar Shadaas Sith academy," said the rodian in near-perfect basic. Terrowin glanced down at his palm sized datapad and saw some pictures of his target. He did a double take, knowing that something was clearly wrong. The target had red skin and spikes and tendrils normally associated with…

"This is a Sith Pureblood. They're supposed to be extinct," Terrowin said as he flicked through the targets file on his datapad.

"I promise you, the information is accurate. We can argue about Sith Purebloods later. The Republic wants this one alive, so shoot to maim, not kill."

"Understood," Terrowin said with a curt nod. Terrowin shut off the comm. and headed to the hold of the _Fenris_ to collect his gear. Terrowin was already wearing his armor, a chest piece made of Mandalorian iron paired with two shinguards and matching bracers. He'd won his armor in a game of Pazaak from a member of his own guild. Beneath his chest armor, he wore a flowing sleeveless trench coat, making for a more striking silhouette. His bracers held a special mechanism which extended a 66 centimeter vibroblade from above the wrist, allowing a distinct edge in hand to hand combat. He picked up his twin blaster pistols and holstered them to his thighs. Terrowin didn't wear a helmet, since it made him less approachable. Instead, he used a retractable visor that linked with his blaster pistols to provide targeting feedback and an ammo counter. He slung a blaster rifle to his back as a long range option.

Terrowin's rifle was a custom job. It held the power cell and all other parts associated with firing behind the trigger. There was no stock in the traditional sense, since it was a part of the weapons body. This meant that the barrel was positioned further back. The result was a weapon as long as a traditional blaster carbine with a barrel as long as a standard blaster rifle. This meant it was more accurate than a traditional carbine and had a rifle's effective range. He called it the SBR-21. He grabbed a couple of power cells for his rifle and another pair for his pistols before heading out. According to the file he received, his target was last seen at one of the local markets. He was also last seen wearing the traditional black robes of the Brotherhood of Darkness. Terrowin decided to follow that lead, having realized he had landed close to the last known location of his target.

The market was unusually crowded. By Terrowins estimates, at least three hundred sentients had gathered there from at least a dozen different species. This would make the search quite difficult as Terrowin always had issues with crowds. Never the less, he set to work, making his way first to a rodian droid merchant selling parts out of a hovering cart. "Excuse me," he said, approaching the rodian. To Terrowins surprise, the rodian merchant had a fairly limited understanding of basic.

"You big bad bounty hunter, yes? Come to my stand why?" Terrowin pulled out his datapad from a pouch on his belt and displayed the file on his target.

"Have you seen this man?" Terrowin asked. "He's wanted by the Republic. He taught at the Sith academy here."

"No one see Sith pureblood since war over two thousand years ago," the rodian explained. "No can help. Sorry. You look like man who need slicer droid. Bounty hunters get discount."

"No, thanks. I get by with computer spikes." Terrowin decided to try the weapons kiosk he spotted a few meters away. He recognized the human running it, as he purchased the parts for his custom rifle there. He carefully made his way through the crowd and approached the human female. Her blonde hair and piercing green eyes were unmistakable. Rumor had it she even carried lightsaber parts. "Heya, Nomi. How's business?" Terrowin said casually.

"Not too great since the end of the war. With the Brotherhood gone, I've got more stuff than I can move. How's bounty hunting been treating you? How's the SBR?"

"The SBR's saved my life on more than one occasion. I was wondering if you might have seen my target." Terrowin displayed the pureblood again on his datapad and showed it to Nomi. The weapons merchant paused, stroking her chin. "He doesn't come by so much anymore, but he used to quite a bit. He's the only reason I bothered carrying emitter matrixes and other stuff for lightsabers. He's probably still at the old Sith academy, but I don't really know where that is." Terrowin had known she was telling the truth. Even on Nar Shadaa, a serious merchant could be expected to honor his or her word.

"Any idea who might get me headed in the right direction?"

"I heard some guys at the cantina are trying to drum up support for an expedition to the academy."

"Republic?" Terrowin asked. Nomi shook her head.

"Salvagers. Probably looking to cash in on some Sith artifacts. You might be able to get the coordinates from them," Nomi said confidently. Terrowin pocketed his datapad back into its pouch. He reached for another pouch and produced a pair of hundred-credit chips.

"For your troubles," Terrowin said, handing the credits to Nomi before heading on his way to the nearest cantina. It was only half a kilometer away and to Terrowins surprise, it was mostly empty. Only a handful of humans and the Trandoshan bouncer graced the inside. Terrowin saw most of the patrons clustered around a pair of ratty looking scavengers dressed in rags.

"We're telling you all that people pay good money for Sith artifacts. This is a huge opportunity. Who's with us?" Terrowin made his way into the handful who were listening to the scavengers.

"You guys look like you could use some hired muscle. I hear those academies had all sorts of booby traps to keep out intruders."

"You want the job, it's yours. Anyone else?" said the scavengers. Terrowin wasn't surprised to see that nobody else volunteered. He couldn't blame them. Raiding a Sith academy was a moot endeavor. Sith artifacts are notoriously hard to sell in Republic space, given that only a handful of Sith fetishists could afford the exorbitant sums charged for such things. And in a best case scenario, you could be sitting on said artifacts for months or even years before someone called up willing to buy. The scavengers approached Terrowin and handed him a datacard containing the location of the academy. "We leave in 12 hours. Be ready by then." The scavengers left the cantina and Terrowin swiftly pulled out his datapad and inserted the card. He left as soon as the coordinates had been copied and decided to show up early, hoping to make sure his acquisition didn't have the chance to flee.

He had no intention of helping the scavengers. For all his visits to Nar Shadaa and other outer rim worlds, Terrowin liked to consider himself a law abiding citizen of the Republic. He decided he would leave the scavengers to their own devices. Academies never really had booby traps, and the scavengers would likely find nothing of value this far from Korriban. Terrowin made his way back to the _Fenris_ and decided to head immediately to the old academy. He climbed into the cockpit and took off, entering the academy coordinates into his navicomputer. In little time, he was a kilometer away from the Academy. Unlike most Sith academies, the one on Nar Shadaa was melded almost perfectly with the surrounding buildings. Terrowin managed to find the landing pad and set the _Fenris_ down in front of the entrance.

Terrowin never considered himself to be Force-sensitive, but even he could feel that something was off about this place. He left the cockpit of the _Fenris_ and stood before the door. It was locked tight, but it was rare for that to keep Terrowin from an acquisition. He pulled a security spike from a special pouch on his belt and jammed it into the interface port. It overloaded with a shower of sparks and the door opened revealing the hallway that lead into the academy proper. Terrowin brought his rifle to bare and entered. He switched on the attached torch to illuminate his path. He finally made it to the main hall and found nobody home. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him. He heard footsteps, hard and heavy, and followed them to the source.

Setting his rifle to stun, he entered what he guessed were the kitchen and saw his target, a bald sith pureblood male with piercing yellow eyes. He lined up his rifle while the pureblood was distracted and fired. In a split second, the pureblood drew his lightsaber into his left hand and swatted the stun bolt harmlessly aside. Terrowin kept up the barrage and each bolt was deflected. He slung the rifle to his back and extended his wrist-mounted vibroblades as the pureblood closed into melee range. Terrowin was no jedi, but he had trained under Mandalorian blade masters. Terrowin put up a brilliant defense. His opponent was using the fifth form of lightsaber combat, Djem-so. The purebloods power attacks were nearly unstoppable, but Terrowins vibroblades had a cortosis weave to make his defense possible.

Terrowin knew enough about lightsaber combat to understand each form's various weaknesses. Eventually, the pureblood would tire out. The pureblood reached out with the force, shoving Terrowin against a nearby wall. As the pureblood charged forward, Terrowin fell from the wall and rolled out of the way. The pureblood got his lightsaber stuck in the wall and Terrowin took the opportunity to draw his blaster pistols and deliver two bolts to the purebloods back. The pureblood groaned and tensed up as the energy from the stun bolts racked his body. The pureblood fell to the floor with an audible thud, his lightsaber still in the wall. Terrowin holstered his pistols and retracted his blades before approaching the stunned Pureblood. He secured his targets arms behind his back with a pair of stun cuffs and placed a neural restraint on the purebloods head to cut off his access to the force.

Terrowin grabbed the lightsaber hilt and extinguished the blade. In one swift motion, he pocketed the lightsaber and grabbed his acquisition. Slung over the bounty hunters shoulder, the pureblood was helpless. Terrowin carried his acquisition back to the _Fenris_ and sat him down in the cargo hold. Terrowin hopped into the cockpit and started the take-off procedure. Once in the air, he reached out to his guild contractor. The little hologram came up as Terrowin climbed up to the upper atmosphere. "Hreeda, I have the acquisition. Where can I drop this one off?"

"The Republic has a detention center on Taris you can take him to. It's a penal colony, so don't overstay your welcome. I'll let them know you're coming."

"You're the best, Hreeda." Terrowin shut off the comm. and began to plot the hyperspace jump to Taris. Over two millennia ago, the Sith empire reduced Taris nearly to rubble. What was once the Coruscant of the Outer Rim territories was a wasteland. During the cold war that took place centuries after the Jedi Civil War, Taris had been mostly restored by the Republic. Its vast cities were never the same and much more of the planet had been reclaimed by nature. Terrowin jumped to hyperspace and after a couple of days, arrived just outside Taris's orbit. Terrowin plotted out the approach to the penal colony and let the autopilot take him there. The _Fenris_ touched down gently on the landing pad and Terrowin dragged his acquisition out to the guards that came to meet him. "As promised," Terrowin said. "One former instructor of the Nar Shadaa Sith academy."

Terrowin handed off his acquisition to the guards. The pureblood didn't even bother trying to put up a fight. He was cut off from the force, his lightsaber was in Terrowins hands and without it, he was at the mercy of several highly trained republic snipers. Even if he escaped, he stood a decent chance of getting eaten alive by rackghouls, nexus, and other wildlife. "Very well, then," said one of the guards. "Follow us to administration and we'll get you paid." Terrowin fell in step with the prison guards as he was lead to the front desk. His gaze was met by a human woman.

"I've got a bounty I'd like to claim," Terrowin said professionally. The Guild prided itself on efficiency and professionalism. That reputation was up to every Guild hunter to maintain in the public eye.

"Let's see, the instructor from Nar Shadaa?" asked the woman. Terrowin merely nodded. "I'll have that transferred to the Guild right away." The woman tapped away at the holographic interface and a few minutes later, Terrowins datapad alerted him to the credits being transferred to him from the Guild. All guild members were entitled to a sizeable chunk of any bounties, but the Guild required a certain percentage. This was in addition to any dues paid annually by licensed Guild hunters. Terrowin received eighty percent of every bounty he claimed. Forty-thousand credits were transferred to his account.

"Thank you. The Bounty Hunters Guild appreciates your business," Terrowin said with a sharp salute.

"And the Republic appreciates your professionalism." Terrowin turned and left, slipping his datapad back into its pouch and made his way back to the _Fenris_. Before taking off, he called up Hreeda one more time.

"Hreeda, I need to head to Coruscant. Are there any assignments for me?"

"Not at the moment. That could change in a week or so. I'll let you know if there is anything that suits your skillset," the rodian said.

"I'll need an audience with the Council of First Knowledge. Can you arrange that?"

"I'll try. Just once I'd like you to make things easy for me." Terrowin shut off the comm. and took off, leaving Taris behind. He plotted out a hyperspace route to Coruscant and arrived in a matter of days. As he descended Coruscants into atmosphere, Hreeda came up on the comm. "The council has agreed to meet with you. Well, at least Master Obba has. Head for the temple hangar and he'll meet you there."

"Thanks Hreeda. Terrowin out." Terrowin made a delicate approach to the Jedi Temple, landing the _Fenris_ inside the hangar bay. As he climbed out of the cockpit, leaving his weapons inside, he was met by an ithorian clad in the robes of the jedi order. "Master Obba, I presume."

"Very astute," master Obba said in near perfect basic. Terrowin didn't have issue with Obbas accent, as he has dealt in the past with basic-speaking ithorians. "It is rare that I meet with one such as yourself. Tell me, why you have called this meeting. I am eager to know."

"I think I have some information you will find most interesting. I think I found the exact location of Nar Shadaas Sith academy," Terrowin explained.

"Normally, a bounty hunter would have a price for this information. What is yours?"

"I don't have one. I've heard what the Sith did on Ruusan. I can't very well leave that knowledge for the scavengers can I?"

"A fair point. And a surprising sense of honor. Please come with me so I can have this location committed to the archives." Terrowin followed Master Obba to the archives and was taken aback by the sheer scale once he crossed into the main chamber. He spotted a few youglings sitting in on a history lesson and a selkath leading a shistavanen around. Master Obba seemed to notice Terrowins most recent observation. "Sirul and Shala. Sirul was once a member of Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness. He came to us seeking redemption and he was admitted as a padawan." Terrowin reached into a pocket and pulled out the datacard containing the location of the Sith academy.

"Here you go," Terrowin said handing over the datacard. Obba took it in hand and proceeded to have it catalouged.

"You may leave at any moment, bounty hunter. Your work here is finished. Feel free to browse the archives if you wish." Terrowin faced the ithorian with a polite bow.

"I appreciate the offer, Master Obba. But I must be going. The work of a bounty hunter is never done."

"Then go with confidence, Terrowin Seneca. And may the Force be with you." Said Master Obba.

"And with you as well, Master Obba." Terrowin left the Archives and returned to his gunship. Climbing into the cockpit, he left the temple behind to return to the Guild. Many of the newer hunters would be eager to hear how he bested a dark lord of the Sith and lived to tell the tale. Terrowin knew there wouldn't be much to tell. Regardless, details would be exaggerated as more and more people heard the tale and passed it on. Terrowin smiled to himself as he left Coruscants orbit. This had been a pretty good week for Terrowin and he was eager for some R&R.


	3. Chapter 3

Taral

Before Taral even knew what was happening, it was all over. The young sith pureblood had been forced to watch helplessly as the black-armored man took his father away. Now the seven-year-old was all alone. He had nobody to take care of him, nobody to protect him. The academy was his home for as long as he could remember. When the call was sent out for reinforcements on Ruusan, only his father stayed. And now he was gone. It was all Taral could do to keep the tears back. But even then they streamed down his face. He buried his face in his hands as his shoulder-length hair tumbled down. He had been hidden while his father fought the armored man and was, thankfully spared. But Nar Shadaa was no place to leave a child on his own. Taral had to find some way to get off-world. But how?

"I can't believe the door's wide open," said a female voice from the main hall. Taral was torn from his misery by scavengers.

"I can't believe that bounty hunter never showed up." Taral knew that wasn't the case. He did show up. These scavengers might just be his chance to get off-world. Taral swallowed his pride and approached the scavengers, his heartbeat quickened as he saw them. They were dressed in rags, likely dirt poor, and desperate enough to raid a Sith academy. They had to have been born on this world as he was. "What's that kid doing here?" asked the younger male scavenger.

"That's a sith pureblood. They're supposed to be extinct." The older woman explained

"Can… can you help me?" Taral asked desperately, tears still streaming down his face.

"What's wrong little one?" asked the older scavenger, kneeling down to meet Taral at eye level.

"A man in armor took my dad. I'm all alone now."

"What about your mommy? Can't she take care of you?"

"Mom went to Ruusan. She never came back." Taral had heard about what happened on Ruusan. His father had kept him updated. Taral knew his mother had died in the caves when Kaan set off the Thought Bomb.

"What's your name kid?" the younger scavenger asked.

"It's Taral. It means protector." Taral had a certain degree of pride in his name. It was his grandfathers.

"Listen kid, I don't think we can help you. I mean, we're struggling to get by ourselves. This academy is our last chance to score big," the younger scavenger said. The older one shushed him.

"Taral, you can come live with us until we can find you a decent home."

"Okay," Taral sniffled. "I don't think you'll find anything. Dad said all the important stuff was moved to Korriban."

"Just my kirffing luck." Said the younger man.

"Come on, Taral. Let's go. I don't think you want to stay here." Taral nodded and dried his eyes.

"I need to get some things first." Taral left to return to the academy kitchen. Reaching out with the force, Taral pulled his bag towards him. His father had done his best to make sure Taral would be prepared to leave the academy at a moment's notice. His whole life was packed away into a backpack for just such an occasion. He slung it onto his shoulders and returned to the scavengers. They were dutifully searching the main hall, desperate to find something, anything, to make this trip worth it. Taral could only watch.

"The kid's right," said the man. "There's nothing here. We wasted the trip."

"Don't say that. We found someone who has it worse off than us. We have to help him." The woman turned to face Taral as he stepped forward with his bag. "Ready to go, Taral?" Taral nodded and fell in step with the two scavengers as they made their way back to their airspeeder. Taral climbed inside with some difficulty and buckled in, clutching his travel bag tightly to his chest. "You okay back there?" Taral nodded as the speeder took off, rushing between the buildings on the way to one of the residential districts. Taral wondered if the showing off was for his benefit. Even if he was impressed, the young pureblood didn't show it. He did, however, marvel at the sites of the city around him. Soon enough, the scavengers arrived at their home building.

The woman landed the speeder on the balcony of their apartment and Taral was the first one out with his bag in tow. He waited for the scavengers to open the door and rushed in once the way was clear. The apartment was very sparsely furnished, owing to the low income of the people who rented it. There was a living room and a bedroom, each furnished just enough to fulfill their respective functions. On one of the tables beside the couch was a small stone carving that Taral recognized almost immediately.

"That's Darth Revan." He said, pointing at the carving.

"Yes," said the woman, "but Revan was the one who saved the Republic after the Jedi Civil War. We found that one on a trip to Dantooine in the old Jedi Temple." The man walked in and made his way to the couch, banging his knee against the table, sending the small carving flying. Just moments before it hit the wall, Taral reached out with the Force and caught it, bringing it to his waiting hand. "How…" the woman said, unable to finish her sentence.

"Dad said that the Force runs strong in us purebloods." Taral walked up to the table and set the Revan carving back on the table. He got up on the couch and set his bag beside him. "You got anything to eat?" he asked. The woman nodded and head off to the kitchen to prepare something. Taral appeared lost in his thoughts. Even the male scavenger seemed concerned.

"You sure you're alright, kid?" he asked, looking down at the young pureblood. Taral didn't say anything. He sat there twiddling his thumbs, thinking back to the loss of his father.

"I don't know," Taral said. "With dad gone, the Jedi might come for me. We need to get off-world."

"I wish we could, but we can barely afford to live here. Leaving's not an option. Besides, the Jedi rarely come here. Nar Shadaa isn't even part of the republic."

"Dinner's ready," said the female scavenger. She carried out three plates of food and set them on the table. Taral ate in silence while the two scavengers discussed their plans for the getting off-world. They had gathered enough artifacts that they could sell, but Taral knew getting off Nar Shadaa would be the only be the start. These scavengers didn't seem to have any marketable skills. The young pureblood had no intention of living as a vagrant. He thought about how he could help them get off-world. Nar Shadaa was on the outer rim, but Taral knew that soon the Jedi would come for the academy. If the Republic put up a reward for the locations of Sith academies, then no bounty hunter would be able to resist. It was only a matter of time before the Jedi descended onto the smugglers moon and found him. He had been told all his life that the Jedi were kidnappers, and brainwashers. He was told the story of Revan and worried that he would meet the same fate.

"Taral," siad the female scavenger, "You okay? You've only touched half your food."

"What do you know about the Jedi?" Taral asked, concerned. "If that armored man told the Republic where to find the academy, it's only a matter of time before they get here."

"Well," the female began, "I know that they're the guardians of the Republic. They're peacekeepers, and they are the antithesis of the Sith."

"That's what I'm scared of…" Taral said. "I'm not just a Sith trainee. I'm a Pureblood. What if they kill me." Taral started to tear up again. The female scavenger got up and hugged him. She started hushing him and he found himself calming down.

"It's okay, Taral. The Jedi don't kill their prisoners. Not even Revan, after all the things he did during the Mandelorian Wars, was given a death sentence. I doubt they'll kill you if you haven't done anything."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They're ssupposed to be just and righteous. Now get yourself some sleep. Tomorrow we need to head back to the academy and see if there's anything worth salvaging." Taral was at a loss for words as he headed off to the couch. He curled up beneath the blanket and drifted off to sleep. It was, however, only a temproary haven. He was too busy worrying about his father. Where did the bounty hunter take him? Did the Jedi know about the bounty? Did THEY post it? What if the bounty hunter came back to Nar Shadaa? Could Taral be his next target? And what about the Jedi? Would they want to finish the job they started during the Great Hyperspace War? Taral curled up and tried in vain to sleep, but he was too scared, too worried about what would happen to him.

Taral spent most of the night awake, each hour went by agonizingly slowly. The scavengers were preparing to return to the academy, almost oblivious to Taral, but Taral still wanted to go. As the scavengers made their way to their airspeeder, Taral shouted, "Wait for me!" He ran to the airspeeder before it took off and leapt into the back seat. They were underway rather quickly and Taral was hoping that they could find something worth enough to get off Nar Shadaa. They arrived outside the academy, the door still wide open from the bounty hunters initial intrusion. Taral cringed, wondering if the bounty hunter that took his father would be back to pillage the academy. Taral went ahead on his own, but the scavengers followed closely. He ran to the archives, knowing that anything of value would be stored there. Taral came to the door into the academy's archives, relieved that it was still sealed. The scavengers caught up quickly and immediately set to work trying to break it down. They set about the task by swinging seldgehammers at the massive stone door, but progress was slow. After an hour swinging away, the only damage done was a hole small enough for Taral to fit through.

"I can fit through that," Taral said, pointing at the hole. "Anything still in there might be enough to get us off this moon."

"Take this," said the female scavenger as she handed Taral a bundle of glow rods and boosted him up to the hole. Taral climbed through, holding on tight to his bundle of glow rods. He unbundled the glow rods and snapped one of them into activating. The shelves surrounding him were bathed in a yellow light. Nar Shadaa's Sith archives were not as vast as those on Korriban, but the teachings held there were no less valuable. Unlike the Jedi archives, all the knowledge in the sith archives was held on parchments, tomes, and even sheets of flimsiplast. Because these archives were constantly being added to, indexing them would be an exercise in futility.

Taral walked among the shelves, grabbing everything he could reach and once his arms were full of parchments and tomes, he would go back, slip them through the hole, and go back to repeat the process. By the time he gathered everything he could reach, he had gone through about six glow rods. He climbed up and out through the hole in the door and immediately helped the scavengers load everything into cloth bags. They were very careful not to damage anything, loading everything very delicately. They had filled two sacs roughly half Taral's height. "That was all I could get. It'll be enough, right?" Taral asked.

"You did good kid, this'll get us off Nar Shadaa for sure. It's just a matter of finding the right buyer on the deep net."

"How long will that take?"

"Usually about a month," said the female scavenger as she grabbed one of the sacks. Taral grabbed the other one and followed the female scavenger out to the airspeeder. Taral loaded his sack into the trunk and got into the back seat with the other sack. The other scavenger joined them shortly. They took off, heading for their apartment. After they landed, the scavengers took the sacks and headed for their room, with taral following closely. From there, they would catalogue everything they found and post it on a Deep Net auction site. The Deep Holonet was the usual home for black market dealers and the like. Because it is completely unregulated, it has become home to a number of Sith fetishists looking to expand their collections of forbidden sith knowledge. Taral helped out as best he could, but was not able to keep pace for much longer than an hour before wandering off to get food. After night had fallen, the job was done and Taral hauled himself onto the couch.

Taral knew a more peaceful sleep this time around, but he was awoken early by the female scavenger.

"Taral, get up. We've got a buyer. We're meeting them in the market." She told him excitedly. Taral got up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He hauled himself off the couch and proceeded to go about the business of getting some new clothes out of his bag. He went off to the washroom to get changed and emerged wearing very basic garb. It did nothing to hide the fact he was a pureblood, but hopefully the buyer would not care. The male scavenger was already set to go and the female lead Taral and her partner out to the airspeeder. They piled in and loaded up a few of the artifacts and manuscripts. "We're meeting the buyer at one of the cantinas. Should be mostly empty this early." Taral nodded.

The airspeeder made its approach and landed just outside one of the less popular cantinas on Nar Shadaa. Taral was the first out of the speeder, followed closely by the scavengers. The female lead the group into the cantina. Once inside, they were directed to a table by one of the wait-staff. Sitting there, waiting, was a red-skinned female twi'lek clad in brown and white robes. Taral froze the second he saw the lightsaber hilt on her hip. The female scavenger placed a calming hand on Taral's shoulder and led him to the table where he took his seat across from the twi'lek Jedi. The female scavenger sat next to Taral and the male scavenger took his seat next to the Jedi. "Thanks for agreeing to meet me. I'm Elara."

"We agreed to meet with a buyer. This is bantha poodoo."

"Yes, I understand the confusion, but the republic has a bounty on Sith artifacts. I could help you cash…" Elara stopped herself as soon as she set eyes on Taral. "That kid… is he a sith pureblood?" Taral nodded.

"And before you say it, no, we're not extinct. Just… really rare."

"Noted," said Elara. "Anyway, the artifacts you have could easily end up in the wrong heads the way you went about it."

"Well," Taral said, "what would the Jedi want with them? They're useless to anyone who follows the light side."

"Some will end up in museums but the more dangerous ones will be locked in a vault in the Jedi archives on Coruscant."

"You said something about a bounty on Sith artifacts," said the female scavenger. "Is the Republic that desperate to stop people from following Sith teachings?"

"Sadly, it appears that way. And as Guardians of the Republic, it's our duty to hold on to such artifacts. I've seen the deep net auction site, and I'd say your whole inventory could get you a place on Coruscant," Elara explained. Taral reached out with the force and determined that Elara was indeed telling the truth. Elara, however, was able to pick up on it. "Try to understand my position, little one. I gain nothing by lying to you or your guardians. It will take some time to process your whole collection, so I'll be calling in some friends to help me out. They might be a while yet. But, as a show of good faith, how about I pay for breakfast."

"But aren't Jedi supposed to forsake worldly possessions beyond what the order gives them?" Taral asked, confused.

"That's true, little one. But we do carry credits for various things. Like buying information or paying travel expenses. I took public vessels to get here, having no ship of my own." It made some sense to Taral after he thought about it for a while. "Besides that, sometimes we have to buy meals for long-term missions." It was only then that one of the waiters came around with menus.

"My name's Taral, by the way. In case you were wondering. It means 'protector' in ancient sith." Taral placed his order with the waitress and everyone else did the same. Elara dismissed the waitress and looked Taral dead in the eye.

"With a name like that, you might fit in among the Jedi order. We normally take them in much younger, but you are young enough. I can sense the power locked away inside you, but without training, you are squandering it."

"I'm not sure I'm totally comfortable with that idea," Taral said.

"Are you afraid to cut ties with your family?" Elara asked.

"These scavengers aren't my family. My mommy went to Ruusan and died. Dad was taken by a man wearing armor over a black coat with vibro-blades attached to his wrists."

"Your father must've been wanted for a while by the Republic."

"Dad was a teacher at the academy. He never hurt anybody."

"I'm sure the Republic had their reasons for posting that bounty. Last I heard, he was sent to a Tarisian penal colony. There are far worse penal colonies than that one, I assure you." The food had been brought to the table just as Elara finished speaking and Taral went quickly to work on his breakfast, stopping only to take a sip of blue milk. Taral finished before anyone else was even half-way through with their meals. "Taral, you really should consider my offer. The Jedi order will do everything it can to help you realize your potential."

"First," Taral said, "I want to know more about these friends you have coming to Nar Shadaa."

"Sirul and Shala?" Elara asked. "Well, Shala was raised on Manaan, where she was discovered by one of the Grey Jedi that occasionally recruits for us. She's a selkath, but she speaks fluently in basic. Sirul is one of our newest padawans, but he's twenty three standard years old. He used to be part of the Bortherhood of Darkness, but he defected after the war. Now, he's trying to reach the rank of Jedi Knight. He has experience in dealing with dark side artifacts."

"Did he train as a shadow assassin here?" Taral asked.

"Nope. Dathomir. He was an acolyte. I'm sure you would have much to alk about. Perhaps he could convince you that you have a place among the Jedi."

"I don't suppose I have a choice," Taral said. "I don't really have anywhere else to go."

"I'm sorry, Taral," Elara said. "I'll meet you back at your flat once my friends get here." The female scavenger took out a writing utensil and a sheet of flimsiplast. She wrote something down before handing it over to Elara.

"Here's the address. Do you have a place to stay here?" asked the female scavenger. Elara nodded.

"Don't worry too much about me. You're free to go. I'll handle the check." The scavengers got up and left, taking Taral with them back to their flat. Elara took out her commlink and imagecaster and called up Shala. The miniature image of the female selkath materialized on the imagecaster. The signal, however, was not terribly stable, and Elara had a reasonable suspicion as to why. "Shala, what are you doing on Ilum?"

"Waiting for Sirul to finish his lightsaber. How goes the investigation into that deep net auction site?" Shala asked.

"I found the sellers, but I need help moving the artifacts. I'd like you and Sirul to come to Nar Shadaa once you're done on Ilum. There's also a potential recruit here that I'd like Sirul to help with."

"That's great!" Shala said.

"There's more to it, though. This kid's a Sith pureblood."

"I thought they went extinct."

"No," Elara said, shaking her head, "they're not."

"I'll bring Sirul to Nar Shadaa as soon as he's done in the crystal cave."

"Thanks, old friend," Elara said before terminating the connection.


End file.
